Information for Authors-SPL

The purpose of the publication of articles is to advance the theory, a new novel that will be of both interest and value.

Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts of LETTERS. Letters are four page articles designed to provide rapid dissemination of original, cutting-edge ideas and timely, significant contributions in signal, image, speech, language and audio processing.

Submissions/resubmissions must be previously unpublished and may not be under consideration elsewhere.

Every manuscript must:

1. provide a clear statement of the problem and what the contribution of the work is to the relevant research community;
2. state why this contribution is significant (what impact it will have);
3. provide citation of the published literature most closely related to the manuscript; and
4. state what is distinctive and new about the current manuscript relative to these previously published works.

By submission of your manuscript to this Letters, all listed authors have agreed to the authorship list and all the contents and confirm that the work is original and that figures, tables and other reported results accurately reflect the experimental work. In addition, the authors all acknowledge that they accept the rules established for publication of manuscripts, including agreement to pay color charges, and any other charges and fees associated with publication of the manuscript. Such charges are not negotiable and cannot be suspended. The corresponding author is responsible for obtaining consent from all co-authors and, if needed, from sponsors before submission.

In order to be considered for review, a paper must be within the scope of the journal and represent a novel contribution. A paper is a candidate for an Immediate Rejection if it is of limited novelty, e.g. a straightforward combination of theories and algorithms that are well established and are repeated on a known scenario. Experimental contributions will be rejected without review if there is insufficient experimental data. The Letters are published in English. Papers that have a large number of typographical and/or grammatical errors will also be rejected without review.

In addition to presenting a novel contribution, acceptable manuscripts must describe and cite related work in the field to put the contribution in context. Do not give theoretical derivations or algorithm descriptions that are easily found in the literature; merely cite the reference.

New and revised manuscripts should be prepared following the "Manuscript Submission" guidelines below, and submitted to the online manuscript system, ScholarOne Manuscripts. Do not send original submissions or revisions directly to the Editor-in-Chief or Associate Editors; they will access your manuscript electronically via the ScholarOne Manuscripts system.

Manuscript Submission. Please follow the next steps.

1. Account in ScholarOne Manuscripts.
   If necessary, create an account in the on-line submission system ScholarOne Manuscripts. Please check first if you already have an existing account which is based on your e-mail address and may have been created for you when you reviewed or authored a previous paper.
   • All IEEE journals require an Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) for all authors. ORCID is a persistent unique identifier for researchers and functions similarly to an article’s Digital Object Identifier (DOI). The author will need a registered ORCID in order to submit a manuscript or review a proof in this journal.
   • Please make sure you are providing complete and accurate name and affiliation information for ALL authors on ScholarOne Manuscripts under the "Authors and Institutions" section during the submission process. If any information is incorrect, please contact the author or the journal administrator to update the information in the author's ScholarOne account. The authors listed on the manuscript must match the authors listed under "Authors and Institutions" on ScholarOne.
   • If your "contact author” and "submitted author" are two different people, please make sure the “contact author” is able to communicate with the "submitted author" regarding any changes or updates that need to be made to the manuscript files at submission or during peer review.
2. Electronic Manuscript.
   Prepare a PDF file containing your manuscript in double-column, single-spaced format using a font size of 10 points or larger, having a margin of at least 1 inch on all sides. Upload this version of the manuscript as a PDF file "double.pdf" to the ScholarOneManuscripts site. Templates can be found through the IEEE Template Selector. (LaTeX and MS Word). You will need to click "IEEE Template Selector" and follow the instructions for the template you need.
3. EDICS.
   All submissions must be classified by the author with an EDICS (Editors’ Information Classification Scheme) selected from the list of EDICS published online at the SPL EDICS page. Upon submission of a new manuscript, please choose the EDICS categories that best suit your manuscript. Failure to do so will likely result in a delay of the peer review process.
4. Additional Documents for Review.
   Please upload pdf versions of all items in the reference list that are not publicly available, such as unpublished (submitted) papers. Graphical abstracts and supplemental materials intended to appear with the final paper (see below) must also be uploaded for review at the time of the initial submission for consideration in the review process. Use short filenames without spaces or special characters. When the upload of each file is completed, you will be asked to provide a description of that file.
5. Supplemental Materials.
   IEEE Xplore can publish multimedia files (audio, images, video, pseudocode and detailed algebraic manipulations of proofs), datasets, and software (e.g. Matlab code) along with your paper. Alternatively, you can provide the links to such files in a README file that appears on Xplore along with your paper. For details, please see IEEE Author Center: Prepare Supplementary Materials. To make your work reproducible by others, the TRANSACTIONS encourages you to submit all files that can recreate the figures in your paper. The supplemental material may also include additional text related to appendices containing proofs of results, descriptions of additional simulations, etc. When supplemental material is present, the equations, theorems, tables, and figures, etc., should all be numbered consecutively to those in the article, so that a reference to, say, "Fig. 10" is unambiguous. The main body of the article should contain the core ideas and should suffice for most readers, whereas the material in the supplement material should be targeted at specialists who need more detail than what the article page limits allow.
6. Submission.
   After uploading all files and proofreading them, submit your manuscript by clicking "Submit." A confirmation of the successful submission will open on screen containing the manuscript tracking number and will be followed with an e-mail confirmation to the corresponding and all contributing authors. Once you click "Submit," your manuscript cannot be changed in any way.
7. Copyright Form and Consent Form.
   By policy, IEEE owns the copyright to the technical contributions it publishes on behalf of the interests of the IEEE, its authors, and their employers; and to facilitate the appropriate reuse of this material by others. To comply with the IEEE copyright policies, authors are required to sign and submit a completed "IEEE Copyright and Consent Form" prior to publication by the IEEE. The IEEE requires authors to use the electronic copyright form (eCF) tool within the ScholarOne Manuscripts system. You will be redirected to the "IEEE Electronic Copyright Form" wizard at the end of your original submission; please simply sign the eCF by typing your name at the proper location and click on the "Submit" button.

Manuscript Length.

1. Must not exceed four pages of technical information including title; names of authors and their complete contact information; abstract; text; all images, figures and tables, appendices and proofs; overlapping text and/or figures is prohibited. A fifth page is available for references only.
2. There will be no exceptions per the EIC in regard to the 5 page maximum page limitation and paying overlength page charges is not an option for a Letters submission per the EIC.
3. The DOUBLE-COLUMN version must be a single-spaced (2-column) PDF of 5 pages or less, using a font size of 10 points or larger, having a margin of at least 1 inch on all side.

Resubmission of Previously Rejected Manuscripts. Authors of a manuscript that has been rejected, from any journal, except for reasons of scope, are allowed to resubmit their manuscript only once.  At the time of submission, you will be asked whether your manuscript is a new submission or a resubmission of an earlier rejected manuscript. If it is a resubmission of a manuscript previously rejected from any journal, except for reasons of scope, you are required to submit a supporting document detailing how the resubmission has addressed the concerns raised during the previous review.

Preprints. Authors may post preprints of the submitted manuscript (i.e., preprints that are identical to the submitted manuscript, except for minor differences) on their personal website, on their employer’s website, and/or on approved third-party preprint servers. Please refer to the IEEE Author Center for complete information, i.e., IEEE Post-Publication Policies and IEEE Post-Publication Policies Infographic. Upon submission, authors are requested to provide a complete list (including URLs) of all posted preprints of the submitted manuscript. These preprints should not be included in the submitted manuscript’s reference list.

All other posted preprints (i.e., preprints by the authors that are not identical to the submitted manuscript, and all other preprints by the authors and/or by other authors) are considered to be prior work. Therefore, for the purpose of evaluating novelty as well as potential plagiarism and self-plagiarism, these other preprints should be included in the submitted manuscript’s reference list whenever relevant, following common practice.

However, if the submitted manuscript is based on one or more other posted preprints, which are not identical to the submitted manuscript but which the authors nevertheless wish to exclude as prior art for the purpose of evaluating novelty, potential plagiarism, and self-plagiarism, authors should explain in detail how these preprints relate to the manuscript, and why these preprints should not be considered prior work. The explanation of how these preprints relate to the manuscript should also be included in a footnote in the manuscript, with the preprints included in the submitted manuscript’s reference list.

Author Misconduct. Author misconduct includes plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and research misconduct, including falsification or misrepresentation of results. All forms of misconduct are unacceptable and may result in sanctions and/or other corrective actions. Plagiarism includes copying someone else’s work without appropriate credit, using someone else’s work without clear delineation of citation, and the uncited reuse of an author’s previously published work that also involves other authors. Self-plagiarism involves the verbatim copying or reuse of an authors own prior work without appropriate citation, including duplicate submission of a manuscript elsewhere (journal or conference), and submission of two different manuscripts which overlap substantially in language or technical contribution. The aforementioned forms of author misconduct also cover materials from third party servers (such as Arxiv). Also, papers including inappropriate or abusive language are subject to Immediate Rejection.

For more information on the definitions, investigation process, and corrective actions related to author misconduct, see the Signal Processing Society Policies and Procedures Manual, Section 6.1. Author misconduct may also be actionable by the IEEE under the rules of Member Conduct.

conference to Journal Papers. It is acceptable for short, up to six (double-column) pages, conference papers to be used as the basis for a more fully developed journal publication. However, authors are required to cite their related prior work, either in the introduction or in a footnote. The papers cannot be identical, and the journal paper should be justified by a clearly identifiable benefit that its publication offers to the research community beyond the already published conference paper. For example, the journal paper may include additional analysis, novel algorithmic enhancements, added theoretical work, completeness of exposition, extensive experimental validation, etc. The added benefits of the journal paper must either be apparent from a reading of the introduction or abstract, or should be clearly and concisely explained in a separate document that accompanies the submission.

Present your journal paper at an upcoming conference. SPS conferences and workshops can offer opportunities for accepted authors of SPS journals to present their results to conference attendees. Authors are encouraged to visit the conference or workshop website for specific information and deadlines on how and when to submit your journal paper to a conference or workshop. Since the paper has been accepted and published by IEEE, no further review of the paper is required. However, it is at discretion of the conference organizers on whether to accept the paper for presentation at the conference. Accepted journal papers will be included in the conference proceedings given to conference attendees, but will not be published in the proceedings that appear on IEEE Xplore.

Submissions must meet the following criteria to be eligible:

• Journal paper must have been published by SPS prior to the conference paper submission deadline, and are valid for the next appropriate eligible conference/workshop within a year of initial publication date;
• Paper topic should be aligned with the conference’s technical program;
• Paper can only be submitted to one eligible conference and not to multiple events;
• Copyright to the original paper has already been transferred to IEEE;
• Accepted authors must meet the same registration requirements as all authors.

Submission Format. Authors are required to prepare manuscripts employing the on-line style files developed by IEEE, which include guidelines for abbreviations, mathematics, and graphics. All manuscripts accepted for publication will require the authors to make final submission employing these style files. The style files are available on the web through the IEEE Template Selector. (LaTeX and MS Word).  You will need to click "IEEE Template Selector" and follow the instructions for the template you need. 

Please note the following requirements about the abstract:

• The abstract must be a concise yet comprehensive reflection of what is in your article.
• The abstract must be self-contained, without abbreviations, footnotes, displayed equations, or references.
• The abstract must be between 100-175 words.
• The abstract should include a few keywords or phrases, as this will help readers to find it. Avoid over-repetition of such phrases as this can result in a page being rejected by search engines.

In addition to written abstracts, papers may include a graphical abstract; see "Preparing Supplementary Materials" for options and format requirements.

IEEE supports the publication of author names in the native language alongside the English versions of the names in the author list of an article. For more information, see "Structure Your Article" webpage, section titled “Authors.

Refining the Use of English Language in Your Manuscript:
English language editing services can help refine the language of your article and reduce the risk of rejection without review. IEEE authors are eligible for discounts at several language editing services; visit the "Structure Your Article" webpage, section titles "Refining the Use of English in Your Article" to learn more. Please note these services are fee-based and do not guarantee acceptance. You are also free to ask a colleague who is fluent in English to assist with editing. However, if the revised manuscript does not meet the English usage criteria, then you are required to use a language editing service for a fee, or you must withdraw the manuscript.

Single-anonymous review process. The articles in this journal are peer reviewed in accordance with the requirements set forth in the IEEE Publication Services and Products Board Operations Manual (IEEE PSPB) (sections 8.2.1.C & 8.2.2.A). Each published article was reviewed by a minimum of two independent reviewers using a single-anonymous peer review process, where the identities of the reviewers are not known to the authors, but the reviewers know the identities of the authors. Articles will be screened for plagiarism before acceptance. 

Communication regarding your submission. While most communication will occur between the AE and authors during the peer review process, there may be times when authors have general questions about the process.  Authors are encouraged to reach out to the Publications Coordinator of the publication to which they have submitted if they have any questions about their submission or the peer review process. When communicating with an administrator about a submission, please always include the submissions’ ScholarOne Manuscripts ID number and the title of your submission.

Accepted papers. As of 01-Feb-2018, the Signal Processing Society does not permit changes to a manuscript after it has been accepted for publication. During each stage of the submission/revision process, authors are required to upload a "Formatted (Double Column) Main File - PDF Document Only" version of their manuscript. If your manuscript is accepted in this round of review, the "Formatted (Double Column) Main File - PDF Document Only" file will be posted to IEEE Xplore as an early access article. For this reason, we ask that the "Formatted (Double Column) Main File - PDF Document Only" be publication ready.

During the revision process, please be sure to remove any colored text or annotations and add any acknowledgments that you would like included in your "Formatted (Double Column) Main File - PDF Document Only." Additionally, if you would like to include an annotated manuscript for reviewers, please upload it as a supporting document.

Open Access. The publication is a hybrid journal, allowing either Traditional manuscript submission or Open Access (author-pays OA) manuscript submission. Upon submission of your final files, if you choose to have your manuscript be an Open Access article, you commit to pay the discounted OA fee if your manuscript is accepted for publication in order to enable unrestricted public access. The OA fee is $2,495. Any other application charges (such as charge for the use of color in the print format) will be billed separately once the manuscript formatting is complete but prior to the publication. If you would like your manuscript to be a Traditional submission, your article will be available to qualified subscribers and purchasers via IEEE Xplore. No OA payment is required for Traditional submission. Corresponding authors from low-income countries are eligible for waived or reduced open access APCs.

Note: If you would like to submit to a fully Open Access journal, please see the Information for Authors for the IEEE Open Journal of Signal Processing

Page Charges

Color Graphics. All SPS publications are online-only, so color graphics are always free of charge.

EDICS Pages of Journals

• IEEE/ACM Transactions on Audio, Speech, and Language Processing
• IEEE Transactions on Image Processing
• IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security
• IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing
• IEEE Transactions on Computational Imaging
• IEEE Transactions on Multimedia
• IEEE Open Journal of Signal Processing
• IEEE Transactions on Signal and Information Processing over Networks

Additional Resources

• IEEE Support Center and FAQs
• IEEE Author Center